I bought this one 3/08Fully loaded comes in at under 4,000 lbs,has a slide,queen full time bed.I got 12.5 MPG Avg east coast ,11.5 MPG Avg NY to NM.Those darn long hills in TX / NM killed the MPG. Also the H3 likes to do violent downshift (5,600 rpm in 2nd ) climbing long hills if you want to maintain 60/70 MPH,if I go down to 50 MPH it holds 3rd and would be 4,000 rpm in 2ndIm hoping to get better MPG with the wind deflector I just installed(pops off easy when not towing

Those teardrops are pretty cool but if I was looking for a wheeling camper I would probably have to look closer at something like Jason's trailer. I also like the fact that I have everything I need including full bathroom with shower.

Looked at standard travel trailers with permanent bed but like the extra size without the extra weight of a hybrid. Couple of shots from the hare scramble races last weekend. Was raining all weekend and didn't need it so left the other queen bed (same side as couch slide, toward back) folded up without losing any room inside.

camper1.jpg (161.53 KiB) Viewed 1997 times

camper2.jpg (146.01 KiB) Viewed 1997 times

Of course one of the guys in our group had to bring his class A so the wife already has our next upgrade picked out after checking his out for a while

fourfourto wrote:I got 12.5 MPG Avg east coast ,11.5 MPG Avg NY to NM.Those darn long hills in TX / NM killed the MPG. Also the H3 likes to do violent downshift (5,600 rpm in 2nd ) climbing long hills if you want to maintain 60/70 MPH,if I go down to 50 MPH it holds 3rd and would be 4,000 rpm in 2ndIm hoping to get better MPG with the wind deflector I just installed(pops off easy when not towing

Don't think it is going to help me much but would be interested in hearing how the deflector works for you. I have not calculated (don't really want to know ) exactly what I am getting but the last trip was about 175 miles each way and I am guessing I got in the 10.5 - 11 MPG range. Of course I wasn't going for mileage, was more about getting there and back. I have found that if I stick from 60-65 it does much better.

Passed H3Jimmy pulling his Alpha with his motor home on I-75 when heading back, he is ready to get out and play again

I thought about the hybrid ,but its only the wife and I (our dog also) I have a double bed above the queen for guests(I use it for storage) and the couch can handle 1 adult or 2 kids if needed.You do have more room with the hybrid for sleeping without loosing camper space.

Mark, hows the 3 doing climbing long hills at highway speed ?

I only used the wing once so far on a local trip .Not long enough to check MPG I also was wheeling on the beach that trip and some local driving averaged 14.5Im going upstate ny in oct 250 miles each way with some hills Ill know better then.I mostly bought it because we are going to NM again in june 5,000 miles round trip towing.It was about $1,000 for gas this past june

fourfourto wrote:I thought about the hybrid ,but its only the wife and I (our dog also) I have a double bed above the queen for guests(I use it for storage) and the couch can handle 1 adult or 2 kids if needed.You do have more room with the hybrid for sleeping without loosing camper space.

It is usually just the wife and I with the dog but I do like the extra space if need be. Not sure how comfortable it would be but between the beds, couch and dinette we can sleep 8 but that would most likely have to be with kids on the couch and dinette. I wanted a hybrid for the reasons I mentioned but I went with this particular unit because it has what they call the garage. The rear fold out bed is on the side rather than the back because the back opens up for storage. There is a large door that opens on the back of the trailer to the storage area that is the full width and height of the trailer and about 20" deep lined with pegboard. I love being able to keep everything back there with room to spare. Every trip I change up how I have everything stored as I decide I don't really need to carry this or I should bring that along

I have the Alpha now so they really aren't an issue so far. When not focusing on mileage I have been able to keep my speed at 75 or so even going up hill without going above 3K RPM. There have been a few occasions where I needed to pick up speed going up a hill and it shifted down again but that is to be expected.

fourfourto wrote:Im going upstate ny in oct 250 miles each way with some hills Ill know better then.

Keep us posted how it works out.

fourfourto wrote:I mostly bought it because we are going to NM again in june 5,000 miles round trip towing.It was about $1,000 for gas this past june

We were looking around at hybrids before heading to Moab and I know if we had found one the wife wanted to take it but I had no desire to being such a quick trip.

Talking about trailers ( here in the real world we call them caravans, vans for short ) just towed mine behind the H2 for 1050 Miles in 20 Hours, van weighs 4409 Lbs, ave = 8 MPG, Gas cost me $740 AU , means I have to fill up almost every stop and gets awkard in remote areas if the servo isn't 24 hr. Seriously thinking of a diesel conversion.

We had this old popup given to us. It was free but needed an assload of work. It was worth it though. We use the heck out of this thing. I had to straighten the axle, fix the brakes, repair the floor, new canvas, new lights all around, fix the fridge, and new tires. All said and done it was about $1500. Here's some pics of the nearly finished product. I have since replaced the roof and painted the frame and wheels.

Last edited by kube1 on Fri Feb 05, 2010 2:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Nice project you got there, your son is going to love it. Especially up there you might want to check out popupgizmos. I need to take some measurements this weekend but will probably be getting some on order Monday. They go over your bunk ends and can make a drastic difference on the inside temps. They are primarily designed to keep the heat out but they work well for keeping the heat in during cold weather too. We camped the weekend before Christmas as well as New Years weekend when the temps got down pretty low for around here. The first weekend we didn't do anything but the second weekend we put a tarp with a reflective side facing down over the front bunk where we sleep. Even though the temps got at least 15 degrees colder that weekend the temp in the camper was noticeably warmer. The gizmos should do even better than a cheap tarp.